Reusable sealing caps



Filed Feb. 7, 1962 nwewroz JOH N J.

FOX

United States Patent 3,142,403 REUSABLE SEALllNG CAPS John J. Fox, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, as-

signor to The Tosca Seal Control Co. Ltd, Vancouver,

British Columbia, Canada, a corporation of British Columbia Filed Feb. 7, 1962, Ser. No. 171,607 2 Claims. (Cl. 21541) This invention relates to reusable sealing caps for bottles such as those containing liquids under pressure, such as, for example, carbonated beverages and beer, and those containing liquid, such as bleach, that is liable to generate pressure as a result of heat and agitation.

The main purpose of the present invention is the provision of a cap formed of a suitable resilient material, such as polyethylene, polypropylene, or other plastic material, of such design that it may be rapidly molded and a minimum of material used, making it economically and practically competitive with any seal cap on the market, and which includes any or all of the following features:

(a) Provides an extremely good seal for bottles for pressurized or unpressurized fluids and yet may be quickly and easily removed when desired without any opening tool,

(b) Provides a sealing cap for continued use after the main seal has been broken,

(0) May be applied to any standard pressure-containing bottle without any alteration to the bottle,

(d) May be applied to bottles by standard capping procedures and automatic cappers, and/ or (e) Allows for manufacturing variations or tolerance in the dimensions of the type of bottle for which it is designed while retaining its sealing characteristics.

As is well known, much effort has been expended in the past to produce a satisfactory sealing cap. Most of the caps in use are made of metal despite their obvious drawbacks, although some not very successful efforts have been made in recent years to produce plastic caps.

Sealing caps according to the present invention overcome a number of disadvantages in known types of plastic caps, as follows:

(1) This cap is formed with a skirt extension which includes a tear strip with a gripping tab projecting therefrom so that when the tear strip is removed, the sealing portion of the cap may be easily removed and replaced on the bottle.

(2) This cap has a skirt and an extension which are designed to fit the bottle, making it unnecessary to redesign the bottle.

(3) The tear strip of this cap forming part of the skirt extension is not subjected directly to the effect of the bottle pressure against the cap, and the cap itself with its skirt extension provides a very firm grip on the bottle.

(4) The sealing part of the cap is left intact when the tear strip is removed so that the cap may still be used to seal the bottle during normal usage.

The preferred form of the present cap comprises a sealing cap section including a skirt, a hollow plug or sleeve in said section, an extension of the skirt including a tear strip with a tear tap secured thereto, and a gripping ring attached to an edge of the skirt extension.

Examples of the present cap are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is an elevation, partly in section, of the neck of the common type of bottle for containing liquid under pressure;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevation of a pressure sealing cap particularly for the type of bottle shown in FIG- URE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a plan view of the cap of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a vertical section taken on the line 44 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a horizontal section taken on the line 5-5 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 6 shows the cap, partly in section, of FIG- URE 2 on a bottle; and

FIGURE 7 is a view similar to FIGURE 6, showing the cap after the tear strip has been removed.

Referring to the drawings, 10 is the neck of a bottle of a type used for carbonated beverages, beer and the like. This bottle has an upper or outer end 11 with a bead 12 therearound. A shoulder 13 is formed on the neck spaced downwardly from bead 12. The outer surface of the neck slopes inwardly abruptly from the bottom of bead 12 to form an annular indentation 15, and said surface is inclined outwardly at 16 from this in dentation to shoulder 13, as clearly shown in FIGURE 1. Another annular indentation 18 is formed in the neck surface beneath shoulder 13. The passage through the neck of bottles of this type usually increase in diameter from the top down, said passage being defined by a downwardly and outwardly inclined wall 20.

Sealing cap 22 consists of a sealing cap section 25 formed by a substantially flat cover 26 having a skirt 27 depending therefrom. The cap section is shaped to fit over the outer end of bottle neck 10. A compressible plug or sleeve 30 is secured to and hangs down from cover 26 concentric with and spaced from skirt 27. This sleeve has an upper end 31 and a lower end 32. In the preferred form of the invention, the lower end 32 of the sleeve is larger than the upper end 31 thereof. In other words, the sleeve flares outwardly a little in a downward direction by increasing in diameter from the top to the bottom thereof. Furthermore, it is preferable to provide a bevel 34 at the lower end of the outer surface of the sleeve. This bevel is reversed relative to the downward slope of the sleeve. It will be noted that bevel 34 forms a tip 35 at the lower end of the sleeve which is actually narrower than the upper end of the sleeve at its outer surface, indicated by line 36 in FIG- URE 4.

Sleeve 30 is spaced inwardly from skirt 27 to form an annular pocket 40 to receive the upper end 11 of bottle neck 10. The inner surface of skirt 27 is provided with an annular rib 42 projecting inwardly therefrom near but spaced from the lower end of sleeve 30. Actually, the inner surface of the skirt is provided with an annular groove 44 above rib 42 to receive bottle bead 12, and said inner surface is formed with a bevel 46 beneath rib 42 and opposed to sleeve bevel 34. These bevels 34 and 46 form an annular entrance 47 for annular pocket 40, and rib 42 projecting into this entrance forms a restriction 48 between said entrance and said annular pocket.

The outer surface of cap section 25 is curved outwardly and inwardly at 50 to form a push flange 51. It will be noted that the surface of groove 44 and the outer surface 50 of the cap section are substantially concentric so that the necessary groove and flange 51 are formed, and a substantial amount of the plastic material from which the cap is made is saved without sacrificing strength in the cap section. If desired, an external rib 52 may be formed on outer surface 50 of the cap section.

An annular extension 55 is secured to and depends from the cap skirt 27. This skirt extension includes an annular tear strip 58 extending most of the way therearound and having spaced ends 59 and 60. The portion of the skirt extension between strip ends 59 and 60 consists of a thin film 62 of the material from which the cap is made. Tear strip 58 has an upper edge defined by a weakening line 65 extending around the skirt exu; tension. This weakening line is formed by making the material constituting skirt 27 and strip 58 very thin along said line, as clearly seen in FIGURE 4.

A gripping ring 68 is secured to the lower edge of tear strip 58, said ring and strip projecting inwardly of the skirt extension at 69 to fit beneath bottle neck shoulder 13. The lower edge of tear strip 58 is defined by another weakening line 72 in portion 69 of the skirt extension, which enables the tear strip to be separated from gripping ring 68. Actually, this ring flares outwardly and downwardly from the inward projection 69 thereof to provide a lead for a bottle neck entering the sealing cap. Although not absolutely necessary, in some cases, it is desirable to provide a downwardly inclined weakening line 74 through the ring 68 from the weakening line 72 of the lower edge of the tear strip and spaced away from the ends 59 and 60 of said strip.

It is preferable to curve tear strip 58 outwardly in cross section as indicated at 76. The curve of this strip is preferably shaped to fit snugly over incline 16 of bottle neck and around and beneath shoulder 13 thereof. This locates the inwardly projecting skirtextension portion 69 and ring 68 beneath said bottle shoulder so that ring 68 grips the bottle neck beneath the shoulder firmly to hold the sealing cap on the bottle.

A grip tab 79 is secured to and projects outwardly from one end of strip 58, in this example, end 60 thereof, see FIGURES 3 and 5, said tab also being connected to thin film 62. In this form of the invention, it is preferable to make the tab pliable, and this is accomplished with the material of the sealing cap by forming the tab with a slender neck 80 projecting outwardly from the end of the tear strip and having a head or knob 81 on its outer end.

Sealing cap 22 may be applied to bottle neck 10 in the same manner as ordinary crown caps. The outward flare of gripping ring 68 provides an entrance for the end 11 of the bottle neck. The cap may be applied to the bottle by hand or by means of a conventional capping machine. When downward pressure is applied to the cap, the inward projection 69 and the lower edge of tear strip 58 spring over the bottle bead 12 and shoulder 13. The outwardly flared entrance 47 of annular pocket 46 directs bead 12 to the restriction 48 in said pocket. The downward pressure on the cap forces the bead through this restriction and into groove 44 of said pocket. It will be noted in FIGURE 6 that groove 44 fits around bottle bead 12 and rib 42 extends into the annular indentation 15 of said bottle firmly to hold the cap in place. At the same time, strip 58 fits snugly around shoulder 13 and gripping ring 68 fits into the lower indentation 18 so that it is practically impossible to get cap 22 off the bottle without opening it in the proper manner. During the downward movement of the cap, ring 63 stretches over shoulder 13 and then contracts into its final position gripping the bottle beneath. This contracting action draws strip 58 tightly over and against bottle surface 16 and around said shoulder. As the tear strip is drawn around the shoulder, cover 26 is pulled down tightly against end 11 of the bottle neck. Ring 68 extends beneath and past film 62 to act as a brace or support across the lower edge of said film.

The downward flare of sleeve 30 accomplishes four things. The sleeve is normally squeezed inwardly by the inner surface 20 of the bottle neck so that said sleeve fits tightly against said surface; it allows for manufacturing differences in the interior diameters of the bottle necks, there being considerable tolerance in the manufacture of this type of bottle; it permits the cap to be used on bottles of different sizes; and it fits the downward flare of said inner surface 20. Furthermore, with this arrangement, the pressure in the bottle always works on the inner surface of the sleeve to press the latter against the bottle surface. Without this outward flare of the sleeve, there would be danger of the pressure getting between the sleeve and the bottle surface to force said sleeve inwardly. As the tip 35 of the lower end of the sleeve 30 is narrower than the outer surface of the sleeve at 36 at the upper end thereof, said lower end will always enter the bottle, and the relative upper movement of the bottle pressing against bevel 34 squeezes the sleeve inwardly during the bottle travel, and the outer surface of the upper end of the sleeve bears against the inner surface of the bottle neck when the cap is in its final position, as clearly shown in FIGURE 6.

The cross sectional curve of the tear strip causes the latter to fit snugly around shoulder 13 of the bottle neck. In addition to this, the curved cross section provides comparative rigidity in the tear strip when it is being torn off the bottle section without the necessity of said strips having to be relatively thick for this purpose.

Although sealing cap 22 is extremely firmly fixed on the bottle neck, it may be very easily released therefrom. It is only necessary to grip tab 79 and to pull it outwardly and around the sealing cap. This tears strip 58 along weakening lines and 72 away from skirt 27 and gripping ring 68. If the latter is provided with the inclined weakening line 74, when the strip gets around to this line, the material tears down along line 74 to cause ring 68 to be released from the bottle. Although said ring does not have to be released at this time from the bottle, it is preferable to do this at the time the tear strip is being removed since bottles of this type are usually returned for re-use, and this makes it unnecessary for someone to remove such rings from the returned bottles. The flexibility of tab 79 protects the cap from being accidentally opened if said tab strikes some fixed object, such as when the bottle is being loaded into a carton. Rather than pulling strip 58 away from the sealing cap when this is not desired, the tab will usually bend under such a blow so that the full shock is not applied to the tear strip.

The skirt extension 55 has now been removed from the sealing cap, and yet cap section 25 still remains to keep the bottle sealed. However, this cap section may be removed by applying pressure to the undersurface of push flange 51. This may be done by grasping the bottle in one hand and pressing upwardly with the thumb of that hand against the push flange. This in effect forces the head 12 of the bottle through restriction 48 of the annular pocket 40. When it is desired to reseal the bottle, cap section 25 is reapplied thereto. The flared entrance 47 guides bead 12 back again into annular pocket 40 when downward pressure is applied to the cap section. The bottle is now tightly sealed. The sealing cap is not as firmly on the bottle now as it was originally, but nor mally a bottle is not subjected to the same usage after it has been opened as it was before such opening. Therefore, such effective sealing is not required at this time. However, the seal is good enough to hold when the bottle is turned upside down, and liquid in the bottle is effectively retained therein. Rib 24 fits beneath the bottle head 12 to keep cap section 25 on the bottle, and yet it does not fit tightly therebeneath, as clearly shown in FIGURES 6 and 7, so that the cap section may be fairly easily removed from the bottle neck.

Sealing cap 22 is particularly designed for bottles holding liquid under pressure. It is to be understood that the term bottle as used herein is intended to include containers formed of glass or any other material, such as plastic or metal. This sealing cap may be used for closing and sealing bottles even when pressure or gases are not involved. The cap protects the outer end of the bottle neck from dirt and contamination. It also seals the bottle that the contents thereof cannot be tampered with since you cannot gain access to the contents without pulling on the tear strip or cutting through the material of the cap.

t will be noted that the inner surface of the cap described above is contoured to fit the outer surface of a bottle neck. The outer surface of the cap is contoured along the same lines as its inner surface. This not only provides useful features in the cap, but it helps to reduce the amount of plastic material necessary to provide a cap of a given strength, thus helping to make these caps economically competitive with anything on the market. This contouring of the cap surfaces also provides flexibility in the cap which is preferably made of a plastic such as polyethylene or polypropylene, which is strong and relatively stiff.

The curved cross sectional shape of the tear strip, and the gripping ring of the cap provides a secondary seal for the bottle on which the cap is positioned. The first seal is provided by the sleeve and by the fact that the cover of the cap section is drawn tightly against the upper end of the bottle neck by the action of the gripping ring drawing the tear strip around the bottle neck shoulder. The cap is freed from the secondary seal when the tear strip is removed. However, the cap section itself still provides a very good seal for the bottle because of the downwardly-flared sleeve of said section. The present sealing cap does not require any specially constructed bottle, in fact, it utilizes features of standard bottle constructions to help provide an eflfective seal. The action of the gripping ring in pulling the tear strip around and against the bottle neck shoulder illustrates this point. This sealing cap may be applied to bottles by standard capping procedures and automatic cappers. The flare of the sealing ring guides the neck of the bottle properly into the cap. In addition, the cap may be placed lightly on the bottle neck with the upper end of the latter just fitting into the gripping ring. Then pressure is applied either manually or by a capping machine. The upper end of the bottle neck ends in the annular pocket of the cap, and a flared entrance is provided for this pocket so that there is no danger of the thin sleeve being displaced as the cap is pressed down on to the bottle. The flared sleeve of the cap allows for variations of tolerances in the dimensions of the type of bottle for which it is designed without affecting the sealing characteristics of the cap.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. The combination of a bottle and a sealing cap,

(a) said bottle having a generally cylindrical neck,

(b) the upper end of said neck having an annular bead whose underside provides a first shoulder,

(c) said neck having a lower annular bead spaced below said first bead and whose underside provides a second shoulder,

(d) said second bead having a gentler cross sectional contour than said first bead,

(2) said sealing cap comprising a cap section and a skirt extension,

(7) said cap section including a cover and a depending outer skirt,

(g) an inner sleeve hanging from said cover and forming with said skirt an annular pocket,

(h) said skirt having an annular rib projecting into said pocket and engageable under said first shoulder,

(i) said skirt extension depending from said cap skirt and comprising a tear strip and a gripping ring,

(j) said tear strip being curved in transverse cross section and closely fitting said lower bead,

(k) the upper edge of said tear strip being attached to said skirt by a weakening line,

(I) the lower edge of said tear strip being attached to said gripping ring by a weakening line,

(m) said tear strip having a weakening portion at one end and a pull tab at the other end,

(n) said gripping ring having a transverse weakening portion offset from said tear strip weakening portion.

2. The combination of claim 1, said inner sleeve flaring downwardly and outward and contacting the inside surface of the bottle neck over substantially the entire area of the sleeve.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,990,077 Van Baarn June 27, 1961 3,032,226 Terwilliger May 1, 1962 3,073,472 Williams Jan. 15, 1963 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,247,480 France Oct. 23, 1959 1,263,129 France Apr. 24, 1961 

1. THE COMBINATION OF A BOTTLE AND A SEALING CAP, (A) SAID BOTTLE HAVING A GENERALLY CYLINDRICAL NECK, (B) THE UPPER END OF SAID NECK HAVING AN ANNULAR BEAD WHOSE UNDERSIDE PROVIDES A FIRST SHOULDER, (C) SAID NECK HAVING A LOWER ANNULAR BEAD SPACED BELOW SAID FIRST BEAD AND WHOSE UNDERSIDE PROVIDES A SECOND SHOULDER, (D) SAID SECOND BEAD HAVING A GENTLER CROSS SECTIONAL CONTOUR THAN SAID FIRST BEAD, (E) SAID SEALING CAP COMPRISING A CAP SECTION AND A SKIRT EXTENSION, (F) SAID CAP SECTION INCLUDING A COVER AND A DEPENDING OUTER SKIRT, (G) AN INNER SLEEVE HANGING FROM SAID COVER AND FORMING WITH SAID SKIRT AN ANNULAR POCKET, (H) SAID SKIRT HAVING AN ANNULAR RIB PROJECTING INTO SAID POCKET AND ENGAGEABLE UNDER SAID FIRST SHOULDER, (I) SAID SKIRT EXTENSION DEPENDING FROM SAID CAP SKIRT AND COMPRISING A TEAR STRIP AND A GRIPPING RING, (J) SAID TEAR STRIP BEING CURVED IN TRANSVERSE CROSS SECTION AND CLOSELY FITTING SAID LOWER BEAD, (K) THE UPPER EDGE OF SAID TEAR STRIP BEING ATTACHED TO SAID SKIRT BY A WEAKENING LINE, (L) THE LOWER EDGE OF SAID TEAR STRIP BEING ATTACHED TO SAID GRIPPING RING BY A WEAKENING LINE, (M) SAID TEAR STRIP HAVING A WEAKENING PORTION AT ONE END AND A PULL TAB AT THE OTHER END, (N) SAID GRIPPING RING HAVING A TRANSVERSE WEAKENING PORTION OFFSET FROM SAID TEAR STRIP WEAKENING PORTION. 